Chicago White Sox right-hander Davis Martin jokingly pointed the finger at pitching coach Zach Bove for the downpour that caused a lengthy delay and ended his start against the Cleveland Guardians after one inning Sunday at Rate Field.
“I looked at Bove in the bottom of the first and I said, ‘It looks pretty ominous out here, man,” Martin told the Tribune on Wednesday afternoon. “And he goes, ‘No, I think we’re good. The radar says, X, Y and Z. We’re going to be fine, it’s going to miss us.’
“And as soon as he finished the sentence, that big lightning bolt that went over Colson (Montgomery) and it started raining. And I looked at him, I was like, ‘really, man. You’re going to do this.’ So I’m blaming Zack Bove for the weather.”
Martin will be back at it Thursday, getting the start in the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds. He credited the coaching staff for getting a jump-start on preparing for the outing.
“Obviously the outing getting cut short with the rain was interesting,” Martin said. “But it was great communication between me and the coaching staff as soon as my outing was canceled, basically. We had some great conversations saying, ‘Hey, there is a high probability you could throw the last game against Cincinnati or (the following series against the) Detroit (Tigers) like normal. So be prepared for both.
“So that helped me from a routine standpoint. I did all my day-one lifting during that game, after I was done I went and did my lower-body lift like I normally would on day one. Get my scouting reports on the off day (Monday) like I normally would do. So just being prepared just in case I did start the game. Once they came to me (Tuesday) saying, ‘Hey, it’s yours.’ I feel confident saying that I already got my reports done, I’m already into my routine and everything’s tracking.”
Martin’s availability helped the Sox as they continued to plan for options with the open slot in the rotation in the aftermath of optioning Noah Schultz to Triple-A Charlotte on Saturday. The starter for Friday’s series opener against the Detroit Tigers is to be announced.
“We’ll take a look at that as we get there,” manager Will Venable said before Wednesday’s game, referring to the rotation spot.
Martin is 9-6 with a 4.17 ERA in 23 starts this season, with 108 strikeouts in 123 innings. In five starts since the All-Star break, Martin has a 7.54 ERA — allowing 19 earned runs in 22 2/3 innings.
“We feel good about the four-seam specifically, if he’s throwing it to the good spots, then I think that helps his whole arsenal play out,” Bove said of Martin before Sunday’s start.
Shirtless fans react to a rain delay during the second inning of a White Sox-Guardians game Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, at Rate Field. (Arthur Maiorella/Chicago Tribune)
Martin allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits in the first inning Sunday, striking out one and walking one. Sunday’s result, a 5-3 win after a 2-hour, 23-minute rain delay, made turning the page easier.
“Obviously the win was awesome,” Martin said. “As soon as we won, that was the easiest way to kind of be like, ‘Hey, great job.’ Everybody did a great job picking me up and like, obviously, that’s just a grindy game, the bullpen doing what they were doing is incredible. So that was an easy way for me to be like, ‘Hey, great, awesome.’
“We won going into an off day. It was kind of super easy just to be like, ‘Hey, great series win, move on to the next one.’”
Injury update
Venable provided an update on catcher Kyle Teel, who is recovering from a left ankle sprain suffered July 20.
“He’s progressing really well,” Venable said. “He’s running for the first time yesterday, I think he got about 80% of his speed. … Dry swings yesterday and ramping up hitting today. You would like to think one week from now, as far as hitting goes, he’s full go hitting.
“Behind that will be the defensive stuff, more the running stuff. More of the non-hitting stuff. And so yeah, you hope he progresses to a point where again, without putting a firm timeline, at the end of the month around then he’s looking at a rehab assignment. Again, I don’t think that’s too premature, but that’s also leaving some room for a week on either side.”